Category: Marriage

Clan is an exogamous group which comes next to family. If the tribe or caste is endogamous, the clan is exogamous. The institution of clan is found in all the primitive societies. It resembles the family but dif­fers from it fundamentally. In British anthropology sib is understood as clan whereas in American anthropology clan is defined as sib. The family is bilateral; either the individual belongs to matriarchal descent or to patriarchal descent. In other words, an individual recognizes his relationship either with a woman as his mother or a man as his father. ADVERTISEMENTS: Thus, clan or sib traces its origin through either parent to the total ne­glect of the other. If a tribe is organized into mother clans, every child regardless of sex is considered a member of…

Morgan proposed a much controversial theory of kinship. During his lifetime his theory was rejected. It was after his death and particularly after River’s interpretation that his theory came into prominence. The structural theory of kinship which Levi-Strauss developed at a later stage borrows heavily from Morgan. It is because of this that Meyer Fortes calls Morgan the founding father of kinship theory of structure and social organization. Morgan’s classificatory theory of kinship is found in his Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity. Besides being a theorist, Morgan was a first-rate ethnologist. When he pro­pounded his theory of sex promiscuity or communism, he was criticized severely. Among his critics were Radcliffe-Brown and Frazer. He was rejected for making conjectures without any ethnic evidence. His classificatory kinship theory begins with systems of…

Exogamy is a general rule of marriage. When a person marries outside a specific social group of which he is a member, it is exogamy. In other words, a marriage outside the lineage group is exogamy. A lineage is a descent group either from the father’s or mother’s line which traces its origin from a common ancestor. In such a situation it becomes inter­esting to differentiate between the close kin and the descent or lineage. Certainly, the size of the group of close kin is smaller. Normally, it consists of father, children and siblings. Beyond this small group there is a larger group which consists of descent and lineage groups. Accord­ing to the rules of exogamy one is not allowed to marry within the lineage and descent group. Marriage outside…

The four component parts of the definition of consideration may well be described as the essentials of valid consideration. We shall now discuss these essentials one by one in detail.Essentials of valid consideration in Indian Contract Act are as follows:The four component parts of the definition of consideration may well be described as the essentials of valid consideration. We shall now discuss these essentials one by one in detail. ADVERTISEMENTS: 1. Consideration must move at the desire of the promisor:In order to constitute legal consideration, the act or abstinence forming the consideration for the promise must be done at the desire or request of the promisor. Thus acts done or services rendered voluntarily, or at the desire of third party, will not amount to valid consideration so as to support…

Important kinds of endorsements are given below:1. Blank or genera endorsementl: If the endorser signs his name only and does not specify the name of the endorsee, the endorsement is said to be in blank Sec. 16(1). The effect of a blank endorsement is to convert the order instrument into bearer instrument (Sec. 54), which may be transferred merely by delivery. Image Source: images.wisegeek.com ADVERTISEMENTS: 2. Endorsement in full or special endorsement:If the endorser, in addition to his signature, also adds a direction to pay the amount mentioned in the instrument to, or to the order of, a specified person the endorsement is said to be in full [Sec. 16(1)].If, for example, A, the holder of a bill of exchange, wants to make an endorsement in full to B, he…

There were certain doubts in the minds of Indian Muslims regarding the application of Muslim personal law to Muslims. To confirm the policy of the British Government and to remove their doubts, the Shariat Act had to be enacted by the Central Legislature in 1937. At present the application of Muslim Personal Law is generally regulated by this enactment. Provisions of this Act regarding the application of Muslim Personal Law are summarised as under:(a) Section 2 of the Shariat Act provides that in a case where both the parties are Muslims the rule for decision shall be Muslim Law, if the case involves any of the following matters:(1) Intestate succession (i.e. inheritance), ADVERTISEMENTS: (2) Special property of the females,(3) Marriage (including all incidents of marriage),(4) Dissolution of marriage (including all…

The most recurrent theme in Kamala Das’s poetry, as pointed out in the foregoing pages is love, rather the failure of love or the absence of love in a woman who strives for it in a loveless male world, for she can realize her being only through love. Like most of her poems on love and sex, this poem is characterised by an emotional intensity arising from a deep sense of betrayal, from the feeling that she has been damned to a life of imprisonment in a male-dominated world. Kamala Das has been accused of indifference to structure and syntac­tical order but in this poem one finds a conciseness and tightness of structure achieved by a network of concrete images which account for the success of the poem and also…

A partition may be effected in any of the following eleven ways: 1. By agreement: Execution of an agreement in writing to hold the property separately operates as a partition. The agreement to separate may even be oral.As observed by the Privy Council in Approvier v. Rama Subha Aiyan, (11 M.I.A. 75), the true test of partition of property is the intention of the members of the family to become separate owners. Intention being the real test, it follows that an agreement between members to hold and enjoy the property in defined shares as separate owners constitutes a partition, although there has been no physical division of the property. Image Source: blog.realdealdocs.com 2. By conduct: ADVERTISEMENTS: Separation of a family can be inferred from the conduct of the parties coupled…

Legal Provisions of Section 221 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.), India.Where it is doubtful what offence has been committed?This section comes into operation where it appears that the accused person can be alternatively or cumulatively charged when it is doubtful whether the facts proved are capable of holding him guilty either of the principal offence or the abatement of the offence. ADVERTISEMENTS: Sub-section (2) gives wide power to the Court to convict the accused of an offence which is not subject of the charge provided (i) the offence for which the accused is found guilty is established by evidence; and (2) having regard to information available with the prosecution, it is doubtful as to which one or more offences would be established by evidence.Commenting on the scope and…

Legal Provisions of Section 149 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object: ADVERTISEMENTS: This section is a very important provision with regard to group liability. It is also known as laying down a principle of joint or vicarious or constructive criminal responsibility. It says that whenever any member of an unlawful assembly commits an offence in prosecution of the common object of that assembly, or any such offence is committed by any member of that assembly about which the members of the assembly had knowledge that such offence was likely to be committed in prosecution of the common object of that assembly, every person who was a member of such assembly at the time of commission of the offence…